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Believe it or not, Google has been a leader in the wearables space for some time with Google Glass. Glass gives users fast access to information and an easy way to see and deal with (certain) incoming notifications, but the form factor is physically and socially awkward. Wear seems like an evolution of the quick information access that Glass pioneered, all in a more comfortable, less invasive device.

I've used quite a few gadgets in my time, and I've never seen anything become as instantly useful as Android Wear has. It's not just me, either. At Google I/O, every attendee got an Android Wear watch, and after a single day, it seemed like everyone's behavior had changed. A notification sound would go off, which would normally send everyone within earshot rummaging through bags and pockets, but by the second day of I/O, we all just learned to check our watches. Strapping on a Wear watch for a few days changes your mobile workflow. It's an extremely useful device that I plan on wearing from now on for the simple reason that it makes me more productive.

Further Reading

Just like Android, Android Wear is an OS that will end up on many different devices. The way the software looks and works is what's most important, so just like in our KitKat review, this article will be focusing on the software only. We're taking a look at the first hardware, the LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live, in a separate article.

Wear feels like it is currently in a soft-launch beta state. The best-looking hardware that everyone wants—the Moto360—isn't out yet, and Google is still in the process of rolling out enhanced Wear support to its suite of apps. Each day I've had the device, there has been some new update that makes something work a little better with Wear. The ecosystem hasn't really booted up yet, either—the link to browse apps on the Play Store says "Coming Soon 7/7." So while this is a consumer release and we'll treat it appropriately, the real party doesn't start until the launch of the Moto360 some time this summer. That will also be a great time to revisit the software since Google will have had several weeks of updates under its belt by then.

Before we dive in, a word about screen shapes. Wear supports both square and round displays. The OS can communicate the screen shape to the app, which can responsively rearrange things, or the developer can manually tweak the app layout. The point is, you can't expect the round interface to look like the square one with the corners cut off—things will be shifted around a bit. For this first look at Android Wear, we're using an LG G Watch (which is square), but round watches will also eventually be an option.

The Companion app

Like nearly all smartwatches, Wear devices rely on a Bluetooth-tethered phone, which needs to be running Android 4.3 and up. Running iOS or Windows Phone? You're out of luck: no Wear for you. Smartwatches seem to be the ultimate ecosystem lock-in device. Samsung's requires a Samsung phone, Google's requires an Android phone, and we're sure Apple's will require iOS. There is so much cross-communication that needs to happen between a watch and phone that supporting multiple OSes becomes really hard. Would you switch platforms for a good smartwatch?

Would you switch platforms for a good smartwatch?

Just as with Google Glass, Wear requires its own companion app to work (several of them, actually). Setup currently involves signing up for a developer beta test group, signing up for five beta apps, and installing all of them. For consumers, things should be a bit easier.

Without a tethered smartphone, Wear is nearly useless. It can't access the Internet or use voice commands, leaving you with only a handful of basic chronographic functions like starting a timer or stopwatch. Your first step after installing the Wear app is therefore to turn on Bluetooth, pair the watch with your phone, and give it access to the notification API. Once all the beta stuff is of the way, setup looks like it will be pretty easy for normal people. The watch actually downloads and builds an app loadout from your device. It scans your phone, downloads the Wear component for any apps that include one, and then syncs it to your watch.

Third parties can only install apps to Wear through standard phone and tablet apps, and sideloaded apps don't work as they did on the Galaxy Gear. Right now, Google Keep is the only phone app that installs a mini-app to Wear watches, but the number of apps will grow as more developers get on board. OEMs can add their own built-in watch apps to Wear without bundling them with a regular phone app (LG's watch includes a "World Clock" app, for example, while Samsung's has a "Stopwatch" app), but it doesn't appear to be possible for anyone else.

You really can't switch between Android devices and keep your watch data. If you want to change phones, you have to wipe the watch and have it scan and re-download data. This takes a few minutes, and you'll lose all your pedometer step-count data and settings.

Enlarge/ The main app, picking a voice action, the unlaunched app store, and the permanent notification.

Ron Amadeo

Once you get the app up and running, it will let you tweak a small handful of settings, connect and disconnect from the watch, and pick default apps for each voice action. At the bottom of the app list is a blue "Browse compatible apps" button. Right now it opens a section of the Play Store that lists the Wear app and doesn't say anything other than "Coming Soon 7/7," so we'll have to address that at a later date. Like Glass, Wear will spawn a permanent notification that will always let you know you're connected to Wear. These things are really annoying, and we wish Android had a way to indicate that it's connected to something without clogging up the notification panel.

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Ron Amadeo
Ron is the Reviews Editor at Ars Technica, where he specializes in Android OS and Google products. He is always on the hunt for a new gadget and loves to rip things apart to see how they work. Emailron@arstechnica.com//Twitter@RonAmadeo